Our Priorities

The Create Columbus Commission has been charged to help the community answer this question: “How can Columbus better attract and retain young professionals – the most educated and mobile demographic in the workforce?”

Young people today want to be in exciting and interesting environments, they want to make the world better for more than just themselves, and they have big ambitions for what they can and will achieve. They want to live their life to the fullest, and believe that where they live is one of the leading factors in enabling them to do that.

One million college educated 25 – 34 year olds move across state lines each year. Rather than moving to the suburbs, Millennials want to move to close-in neighborhoods of the nation’s large metropolitan areas. Therefore because mobility declines rapidly with age, the location decisions made in our 20s and early 30s play a key role in shaping metropolitan economic success.

As the 15th largest city in the country, Columbus is feeling the benefits of our generation’s choices. From 2000 to 2012 the number of well-educated young adults in the Columbus metro area was increasing faster than the overall population growth. Additionally, 25 – 34 year olds make up 23% of the population downtown.

Columbus is moving on all fronts to be a magnet for talent – we are engaging the area’s college students in our city like never before, our downtown is transforming before our eyes, and we are changing perceptions of Columbus nationally with regular media attention. Nonetheless, there is more to be done.

The CCC works to answer this question by advising its stakeholders and community leaders on the areas in which progress needs to be made to best compete for talent. In addition, the CCC administers an annual grant program to support projects and initiatives in the community that impact the attraction and retention of young professionals.